Irish Dance For The Next Generation

By Nina O'Hara Stojanovic

Nina is an adult Irish dancer based in Belgrade, Serbia. For more, connect with her on twitter @GingerLujka.

With the growing popularity of Irish dance worldwide came the blooming of ideas on how to mix Irish dance with other dance and art forms. Thanks to YouTube and social media, videos went viral and what we are now witnessing is a growing popularity of dance fusions among Irish dancers, whether with other national dances or with modern styles of music and dance.

Here are only four of them, those that gripped our attention the most – but we also welcome any suggestion on your part!

1. TapTronic

Northern America – based trio mixes electronic music and fantastic rhythms, adding once again that New World flavor to the old art of Irish dance. Even though they retain the casual style of street culture, you can occasionally see them perform at the more ‘official’ venues, such as 2013 North American Irish Dance Championship.

2. Up and Over It

Nobody gave much thought to the Irish dancer’s habit of going through their steps with their hands, until two former Riverdancers Suzanne Cleary and Peter Harding went viral in 2010 with their spectacular and witty performance on America’s Got Talent. They teamed up with Johnny Reed who produced their hit video “We No Speak Americano” that now has almost 10 million views on YouTube. Check out their performance on America’s Got Talent below or click here to see the official video.

3. The Fusion Fighters

Amazing mix of music, Irish dance, technology and martial arts. This group of dancers insists on wearing masks at all times while performing thus taking the focus off the dancer and spotlighting the dance. In just a year since their launch, Fusion Fighters gained significant popularity. They are for sure a force to be reckoned with among the new generation.